What are the most dangerous dog breeds in Washington?

This month we covered a story about a woman who was attacked by a leashed pit bull while jogging. This woman went on to spread pit bull dog bite awareness throughout the Seattle, Washington area through her national website, dogsbite.org.

Although many states are considering breed-specific dog ordinances and laws to lower the number of dog attacks, many consider this to be "breed bullying" and unfair. Even though some types of dog bite more often than others (and even though some types of dog are known to do more serious damage due to their size and strength), they argue that the vast majority of dogs are never aggressive towards humans.

With both perspectives in mind, we think it is helpful to list the types of dogs that are more prone to attack people and be aggressive based on solid statistical analysis. This list does not mean that ALL dogs of these types should be avoided, but it does mean that you may want to be more careful when around strange dogs of these breeds. Also keep in mind that most dog bites are not by strays, but rather by the dogs of friends, neighbors, and family.

Dangerous dog breeds:

• Alaskan Malamutes
• Rottweiler
• Pit Bull
• Doberman Pinschers
• Akitas
• Boxers
• Wolf-hybrids
• German Shepherds
• Siberian Huskies
• Presa Canario
• Great Dane
• Chow Chow